Who: Hotaru and Setsuna What: First meeting Where: Brea Olinda High When: Monday morning Rating: PG Status: Complete
Hotaru resisted the urge to clutch at the straps of her backpack. Atsushi had dropped her off at Brea Olinda only a little bit past six o’clock, “To register for your classes,” he said. It hadn’t taken that long, though, because Hotaru had called the office the Friday before to set everything up. The receptionist in the main office bleared at her with half-focused eyes as she scribbled in her information, and Hotaru couldn’t help feeling a little guilty for bothering her so early in the morning.
Now she wandered the empty halls, listening to the sounds of her own footsteps, feeling slightly agoraphobic. There were a few students standing by the lockered walls, but all of them seemed too immersed in their own routine to pay any attention to the new girl. Which was, she supposed, a good thing. She glanced at the class schedule the woman in the office had given her. World History at 8:00 A.M. The class was just a few doors away. She supposed she could wait outside for now.
She had expected the classroom to be closed, as most of the other classrooms she’d passed had been. To her surprise, the door was wide open. She stepped gingerly toward it. Maybe she could wait inside instead.
There was a woman sitting at the teacher’s desk. Hotaru recognized her instantly. The woman from that net thing. The one who’d seemed so familiar. Now she knew why; she’d seen this woman’s picture on the school website.
Perhaps it was down to more than just that, but Setsuna was going to refrain from passing further judgment on that just yet. There was no point in hoping too much that their missing soldier would randomly drop in out of the blue.
As quiet as things were, she could hear Hotaru coming from a fair distance off, glancing up from her desk when things suddenly fell silent. “You’re here rather early, aren’t you? I’m... not used to students being that eager to attend.”
Hotaru blinked. “Oh. Hi. Um, I’m not. Eager to attend.” Something about this woman discomposed her. Maybe it was the fact that Hotaru had been complaining on the Net about going to school, and one of her teachers may have read that. But no, that wasn’t really anything to feel this weird about. “Sorry, should I wait outside?”
Why was nobody ever properly interested in learning? Was it just part of the American culture? Setsuna just couldn’t understand it... then again, she was hardly typical. “You’d be waiting for a long time... by all means, stay in here. It’s more comfortable than standing around out there.”
“Thanks,” Hotaru muttered, and made her way into the dim classroom. She selected a seat in the back of the room and sat, sliding her backpack onto the desk in front of her and trying to study the teacher without getting caught at it, from her peripheral vision. She looked almost too young to be a teacher. Her hair was long and dark, her clothes stylish. But this was California, after all. Maybe everyone dressed like this.
She should introduce herself. Dad would have scolded her for being so rude during a first meeting. If he were alive. But he wasn’t. She introduced herself anyway. “I’m Hotaru Tomoe,” she said. “You’re...Ms. Meioh?”
At least she seemed polite. A lot of her other students seemed to revel in immaturity and general rudeness, so for someone to actually treat her with at least some level of respect was rather nice.
“Otherwise known as ‘that teacher that occasionally threatens to throw students out of the window’,” Setsuna admitted that with a slight smile. Honestly, you did it once and they never let you forget. “I’m sure you’ll be a pleasure to teach, Hotaru. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Maybe she’d even be able to help the girl enjoy her schooling to some level. Stranger things had happened.